One Week
by MomentarySetback
Summary: One fateful case forever changes Calleigh and Eric's lives over the course of a single week. / / Alternate EC storyline for sometime after or during Season 10.
1. Sunday

_Note: This idea just hit me a few weeks back and it's come together rather quickly. There should be 7-8 relatively short (unless I get carried away) chapters. As the summary mentions, it's set sometime after Season 10 but is an alternate storyline – or it could be an alternate storyline for seasons 9 or 10, whatever you prefer to imagine. Hope you enjoy! :)_

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**Sunday**

Calleigh loved Sundays. Before Eric, she might've already finished her morning run and been at the store by now in a rush of weekend productivity. But Eric slowed her down – in the good way. He made her appreciate slow mornings with coffee cups and books and time spent on the back patio. Sometimes he even convinced her to come back to bed and filled her Sunday mornings with warm skin, soft sheets, wandering hands, and a slow burn of pleasure.

She was beginning to wonder whether it was going to be one of those mornings when she and her coffee cup ventured back to the doorway of their bedroom to find him freshly awake, propped up against two pillows and thumbing through his phone. Calleigh leaned against the doorway for a moment, taking him in, and he smiled when his tired eyes reached her.

She was quite a sight with her tousled morning hair flipped to one side, her mischievous, adoring eyes catching his from just above her mug as she took a coy sip, and that familiar satin robe he knew had very little beneath hitting her thighs.

"Good morning," she greeted as she made her way towards him, cradling her cup carefully as she leaned down to press her lips to his in a soft, lingering kiss. As they parted, she curled one leg in and took a seat next to him, other leg dangling down to the floor.

"It is now." He watched the smile that drew from her with a grin, setting his phone aside and letting his fingers find the smooth skin of her calf.

"I was beginning to think I'd have to run without you."

His fingers skimmed over her knee, teasingly venturing towards her thigh before sliding back down, and he chuckled. "It's only 8:30."

"Only?" She raised a brow, and as his hand crept into the crook of her knee and tugged her towards him, she leaned forward to set her coffee cup on his nightstand. "I've been up since seven."

His grin broadened as she slipped one leg over his body to straddle him, his hands instinctively finding her thighs. "Should've stayed in bed," he told her, fingertips grazing her skin as they dipped beneath her slip to show her staying would've been worth her while.

"Well, I'm back now." Her palms smoothed over the sheets covering his chest, finally finding bare skin at his collarbones and bringing her closer down to him. She tucked stray locks of blonde back behind her ear before dipping down to kiss him, but he had other plans.

Rising up to meet her, Eric urged her back until they were both upright, where his hands could reach her skin and his lips could find hers much easier. And they did, his lips capturing hers in a soft, lazy, but heated press-and-slide, one hand trailing through her hair before settling along her jaw. His free hand gripped low on her waist, holding her close as he shifted beneath her to rock her back a little so he could sit up further. She sighed against his lips as the covers pooled at his waist, revealing what she knew without looking to be the gorgeous tanned skin of his chest that her fingers immediately skimmed down. Paying special attention his abdomen, where his sculpted muscles always contracted beneath her touch in anticipation, she ran her fingers over the ridges.

Eric urged her up for a moment, ridding himself of the offending sheets and comforter that had been separating them, and when he guided her back to his lap, a sigh of his own escaped his lips as their hips kissed. His lips found hers again for a moment, tugging teasingly at her bottom lip before he pressed a kiss to her cheek, her jaw, her neck… He untied her robe and pushed it aside, groaning at the creamy skin afforded to him by the silky tank she'd worn to bed.

She smiled as his lips landed just under her collarbone, making their way with painstaking slowness to the newly revealed swell of her breast. Fingers curving around the back of his head, she bit her lip as his fingers skimmed over her shoulder and pushed the strap from her skin to let his mouth explore her further.

"We're never gonna run, are we?" she asked, and he felt the words resonate through her chest.

"Sure we are." He chuckled, pressing his forehead to her chest for a moment. "Consider this your warm-up."

His hands found hers, weaving their fingers together and bringing her left hand toward his mouth. He kissed her knuckles, eyes dancing over the sparkling diamond ring he'd given her a year ago and the platinum band they'd added five months ago.

She felt the weight of the matching band on his left hand in hers and she smiled, drawing his lips back to hers.

* * *

Eric also loved Sundays – not only for their leisurely morning activities, but also for the fact that their long run route ended near the large farmer's market not too far from their house. They always shared a post-run snack to tide them over until they got home, and they inevitably fought over the final few bites, both starving after a long run.

Today was no exception, and as he sorted through packs of specialty spices, his eyes kept drifting to Calleigh in the next stall and their disappearing breakfast crepe. Sensing his eyes on her, she looked up and smiled, her weak spot for him showing as she sauntered over and handed him the last of it.

"You can have the rest," she said sweetly, and he raised his brows. "I'm saving myself for the last of that pasta." She tucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and poked his side playfully, drawing a chuckle from him as he took an oversized bite. She was quite a sight right now, and he couldn't help but let his eyes linger – black cropped leggings showing off her lean but strong legs and perfectly clinging to every curve of her hips and backside, a purple tank revealing shoulders that were just beginning to freckle this summer, blonde hair pulled up into a ponytail with adorable post-run flyaways, and her makeupless face a fresh shade of pink from their run, skin gleaming with a sheen of perspiration. He'd easily let her get away with eating the last of last night's rather delicious dinner concoction. Turning his attention back toward the contents of the booth, a jar caught his eye and an idea suddenly came to mind.

"Hey, what do you think about fricase de pollo for dinner?" he asked, reaching for the jar to study the label closer. "They have alcaparrado olives."

At her complete lack of response, he looked up, finding her not even looking his way.

"Cal?" He watched her closely, leaning to see beyond her, and a little smirk immediately tugged at his lips. She was completely entranced by a baby boy who'd taken an interest in her, gazing up at her from his cozy spot in his mother's front-carrying sling.

"Hmm?" she finally responded, rather delayed, as the mother walked away, taking the adorable finger-in-mouth, grinning baby with her. Calleigh blinked her way out of her baby daze, finally looking at him only to find him smirking even harder now, and she tried to hide the smile that was creeping across her own lips.

She'd been off her birth control since the month before they'd gotten married – six months ago. Nothing had happened yet, but neither of them were particularly stressed about it. They'd known they were starting late in the game and were comfortable with whatever life threw at them together, whether that meant having a gaggle of their own or adopting older kids that were very much in need of a loving home. It was all on the table, and they'd been very relaxed about it...only now calm, level-headed Calleigh was apparently getting distracted by babies left and right.

Eric grinned knowingly at the look on her face.

"What?" she said, shrugging. Eric coyly stepped up to her, his free hand finding her hip, his other still gripping the secret ingredient to their dinner. "He was cute," she defended.

"Mmm," Eric murmured in acknowledgement, his forehead gently bumping against her temple for a moment before his lips pressed a kiss there. "So are you."


	2. Monday, Part One

_Note: Thank you all so much for the reviews! You make me feel like I'm not crazy for having EC ideas so many years later, haha. Hope you continue to enjoy it. :)_

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**Monday, Part One**

It was only 9:52 a.m., and yet it was already shaping up to be a Monday for the books. Someone had detonated a bomb on the second floor of a high rise in the heart of downtown Miami's business district. An entire suite of offices had immediately been taken out, along with parts of the floors above and below. The death toll was climbing rapidly and the blast had rocked the structural integrity of the twelve-story building.

It was a logistical and and jurisdictional nightmare, with local PD and rescue first on the scene, the FBI beginning to take control with everyone jumping to conclusions about terrorism, the bomb squad waiting to get in, and structural engineers keeping an eye on the integrity of the building. It wasn't a matter of if the building was going to cave, but when, and there was a rush to clear survivors and then bodies of the decreased from the rubble as quickly as possible. All available CSIs, even the night shifters, had been called in to help with the rescue efforts, but their team had been given the task of combing for evidence before the building gave and even more trace of the bomb and/or bomber was destroyed.

Eric would've been lying if he said he wasn't anxious about Calleigh being inside a building that could collapse at any moment. He'd given her a look as they'd parted – him to coordinate between the CSIs recovering evidence and the structural engineers – a look that said he either wanted to trade places or go in with her. But, as he had many times on the job, he'd had to remind himself that they'd chosen this life and there was nowhere either of them would rather be than here, saving lives and helping find justice for the victims and families. So he'd swallowed hard and squeezed her hand before he followed orders, both of them succumbing to the nature of their jobs.

On the plus side, he had a direct line both to their team inside and to the team of structural engineers, a few of whom were actually there with him right now in the makeshift control center outside. Between the damage from the blast and the chaos in the city, phone lines were completely unreliable so they'd kicked it old school with radio and walkie talkies.

"You guys in?" Eric asked, pressing the yellow button on the device while he spoke.

/-/

He was talking to the whole team on the line – Horatio, Ryan, and Calleigh – and yet Calleigh recognized the tone in his voice, soft and concerned. He was asking her, checking in on her.

"Yeah," she said softly into her walkie talkie, her eyes disbelievingly taking in the remnants of the building. "We're here."

Nothing like this had happened in Miami; she'd never seen anything like it: a building that looked like it'd been sucked dry from the inside out. Only the scaffolding remained in some places. There were the remains of indistinguishable furniture items and building parts scattered everywhere, in places they should never be: in between floors, hanging from steel beams. It was surreal, like she was walking through a movie set that couldn't possibly be real.

Only it was – all too much so, she realized as she took in the body to her left. A security guard's uniform peeked out from beneath the rubble and she pressed her lips together tightly, directing her flashlight there. It was a mix of blindingly bright because the walls had been blown right off one corner of the building and then dusty and dark depending on where you were and how much of the building surrounded you.

With low expectations, she walked towards the body, crouched, and placed two fingers against his neck to search for a pulse. She wasn't surprised that it was in vain, but she'd had to try. Sighing, she pressed the button on her walkie talkie.

"They still clearing out survivors?" she asked. "I've got a body. Looks like a security guard for the building."

"Yeah, still working on getting survivors out," came Eric's voice through the crackly line. "They'll get to him." The last part was soft, with a certain reverence that made Calleigh's lips tighten.

"We don't know anything about the bomb or the bomber yet, so keep your eyes peeled," he reminded her. Doing just that, she surveyed what once may have been the second floor lobby of a bustling office building. Horatio had gone off down a corridor to the right, likely using his background with the bomb squad to track down the origin. But Calleigh wandered off to the left, searching for other clues. What had once been a hallway, if the scaffolding gave any indication, was completely blown open, the offices that had once existed to one side completely giving way to the floor below. This floor had definitely been the source, with the blast clearing the way underground to the basement and a huge chunk of offices completely missing up to the fifth floor.

It got to her for a moment – thinking of all the people who may have been innocently typing up emails at their desk or in their morning meetings, when suddenly they lives were gone before they even knew what had happened. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes before taking a deep breath and collecting herself. The corridor next to the huge gap in the building was partially blocked, but she was small and agile enough to slip by a couple huge pieces of scaffolding and drywall in the way.

She'd just crept over a chunk of concrete and spotted another body when Eric's voice came back over the line, not quite urgent but certainly a little more rushed.

"They're worried about your side of the building," he said to the three of them. "The middle floors are shifting. Might not want to go too much deeper, they think we could have to clear everyone out in a few to be safe."

"Will do," she said, soon hearing Horatio and Ryan's affirmatives a moment later. But she bit her lip and took a few steps deeper towards the body. He was only a few feet away, jeans and a navy plaid button-up covered in dust and debris. Her fingers again searched for signs of life along the side of his neck, but she found none. "I've got another body here." And then, brows furrowing, she surveyed the space again and then took in his attire. This was one of the nicest office buildings in Miami, with steel beams and glass walls, and yet this guy was casually dressed. "Kinda weird. Everyone here dresses up and he's in jeans, seems out of place. I'm taking photos."

"Make it quick and then head back towards the entrance," came Eric's voice over the line.

Unhooking her camera strap from her shoulder, she unscrewed the lens cap and snapped a few shots, stepping over the body to make sure to get a few of his face so they could ID him. With a gloved hand, she fished out his wallet, slid it into one of the few evidence bags she had in her pocket, and tucked it into her back pocket. It wasn't exactly the best way to preserve evidence, but they were short on time and resources.

She was slipping the camera strap back over her shoulder and beginning to obey orders, hand on a fallen steel beam, when she heard it: a faint cry, almost too soft to hear amid the creaking building and shouts of rescue crews. She froze and listened again, but a helicopter overhead completely overwhelmed her senses. Finally it passed, and in the eerie silence she heard it very clearly this time: the cry of a young child, a garbled and drowned out "Mama?"

Calleigh felt her heart crumble at the thought of a child enduring this, and completely ignoring their orders to move back towards their entrance point, she pushed herself back over the beam and followed the sound. It was hard to pinpoint the source with all the disturbed walls, but she finally did: an entire row of offices had shifted between floors in the blast, oddly protecting them between rows of scaffolding. The damage was still bad, and as Calleigh climbed down a concrete block to the office a half-floor below, she immediately saw two bodies strewn over beams and electrical wires. But the crying voice was so close she felt like she should've been able to reach out and touch whoever it was, only she couldn't. She couldn't see anyone at all, but she listened carefully.

"Hello?" she said softly into the mess of stone and steel, but the voice immediately stopped, followed by sniffles. "Keep making noise, I'm a police officer, my name's Calleigh. I can help get you out, okay?"

"Okay," came the tiny voice, choking back a dry sob and a hiccup from crying so hard for so long. "I stuck." Calleigh's heart clenched and began to race in her chest, because she knew exactly where that voice was coming from now and it was beneath a large sheet of concrete and rubble.

Calleigh was oh, a good hundred yards from where she should be by now and this was going to take a good few minutes to move. Diving in without question, she moved a large rock and then some wires she handled carefully before realizing they thankfully weren't live.

She'd set the radio down, but she heard it buzz to life with updates from Horatio and Ryan: they were about twenty yards from the exit, taking a few photos of blast patterns and measuring distances. A moment later, Eric's rushed voice came through the speaker, announcing the words she could tell he'd been dying to say for his own selfish relief.

"All right, you guys gotta get out of there. They're clearing everyone out, building's gonna shift and might collapse on the east side. Is Calleigh with you?"

Calleigh looked up for a moment, silently urging Eric to forgive her for this as she ignored the insistent voices over the radio and maneuvered herself between a pile of rocks and the concrete slab. As it shifted against her weight, she realized the rocks were going to fall, so she paused long enough to speak.

"I need you to stay back against the wall, okay? These rocks are going to fall down and then we should be able to get you out."

"Okay," came the small voice again. And then Calleigh took a deep breath, ignoring the harsh voices calling her name on the radio as she urged all her weight against the slab. The rocks shifted as expected, one hitting her thigh sharply before she could move out of the way. The pain almost made her cry out, and she knew she was going to have a hefty bruise if the immediate throbbing was any indication. But she'd succeeded – a big gap now open at the top. Finally, when she peeked in she could see a little girl, no more than three years old, if that, cowering at the back of her little cave of protection.

"Hi, sweetie," Calleigh said softly. "Are you hurt?"

The little girl shook her head, brownish-blonde curls a mess as they fell from her ponytail bow. She pushed them from her red-rimmed eyes, and Calleigh caught a glimpse of her tear-stained cheeks in the strip of light streaming in. And despite her nonverbal assurance that she wasn't hurt, she had quite the contusion on her forehead over a swollen bump.

"I need you to climb up these rocks, okay? Can you do that?"

She nodded, beginning to move towards Calleigh.

"But you gotta do it fast," Calleigh said, trying not to let her voice sound as shaky and rushed as it felt as she reached for the radio. "Like you're in a race."

Calleigh pressed the button down and then managed to keep it shoved down as she wedged the radio between two rocks so she could reach her arms into the rubble to help.

/-/

"Cal," Eric nearly shouted into the radio. "Where are you?"

He'd taken a few steps away from the control center now, growing less and less professional as the moments ticked on without an update from her. Horatio and Ryan had looked for her for just a moment before reluctantly obeying orders, and the line had gone silent as they made their way out so they could leave it open for Calleigh to communicate with them.

Finally, the red light came on and a crackling came across the radio. He heard a thud and then a few noises like her walkie talkie was brushing against something, and then finally, _finally_, her voice came through the line. Only, as relieved as he was to hear her voice, her words weren't assuring at all.

"Eric, I've got a little girl in here," she told him, her voice a mix of apologetic and hopeful, heartbroken and determined.

That voice filled him with a sense of dread – because she wasn't on her way out as he'd hoped. Instead, she was God knew how far inside the building, and he dropped his head because if he were in her shoes, he knew exactly what he'd do so he couldn't even truly be mad at her right now. She was disobeying orders, unnecessarily risking her life...and he couldn't even blame her because he'd do the same damn thing.

"Cal," he pleaded with her still. "Babe, you gotta get out."

"I know," she said, rushed and breathless. "I almost have her." He could hear a shuffle, her voice sounding further away as she said, "Good girl, you're doing great. Can you grab my hand?"

His heart was absolutely breaking at the sound of her voice – all sweet and reassuring despite the situation and god, she'd make a great mom but he felt like he was watching that possibility literally vanish right before his eyes. Releasing the button on his radio, he ran over to the control center to check in.

"How long do we have?" he asked one of the engineers. The guy, who knew Eric's wife was in there, took in his panicked eyes and determined face and hesitated because he didn't have it in him to tell the truth right now. He looked back up at the building and both of them watched as pieces of the top floors fell in, completely crumbling down to the sixth floor in a strange, slow motion domino effect.

"Hi," came Calleigh's awed, rushed voice through the line, and he knew she wasn't talking to him. "You're okay, I got you," was the last thing he heard before her voice completely left him.

Chaos surrounded him as the control center fell apart, people abandoning computers and radios to move further back as the now unpredictable building began to give. He wasn't sure if minutes or seconds were passing by, but he watched the floors cascade one by one. Despite the commotion, all Eric could pay attention to was the crackling of the radio as it broadcasted his only hope. He watched the building literally crumble from the inside out, falling into the large, cratered part of the former office building he knew Calleigh had been in, and moments later the line went dead.


	3. Monday, Part Two

_Note: Alright yall, I'm seriously blown away that this story has 30 reviews from the first two chapters! Thank you all so much. It inspires me to write even more knowing so many of you are still around reading. ❤️ I tried not to keep you waiting long since the last chapter was such a cliffhanger. Hope you enjoy this one._

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**Monday, Part Two**

Eric couldn't believe his eyes. He couldn't believe he'd watched the rest of that building collapse right before him, not knowing where Calleigh was or if she'd managed to get out. He'd wanted to sprint in after her, but even in his emotional, impulsive state, he knew it would have been a pointless suicide mission because he wouldn't have known where to look for her in time.

He couldn't believe that any of this was real – that it had happened in Miami or that Calleigh had still been inside the very building before him that he'd watched crumble nearly to ash.

He had to have hope – or maybe it was denial. Maybe she'd gotten out. Maybe she'd made it over to the west side of the building. They were unlikely possibilities, he knew, and as the minutes ticked on, they were growing more and more unlikely.

A final wave of rescue crews who hadn't been able to give up on their mission, probably ignoring orders, had come racing out just after the building crumbled, but since then...nothing. There was no sign of her.

He gripped the headset he'd been using to communicate with rescue and threw it down, then raked his hands over the top of his head as he walked away – away from the hundreds of people who'd gotten out in time, away from everyone who hadn't even had to go in or risk a loved one's life today, away from the crumbling building that some selfish, missguided bomber had taken down today.

He was suddenly angry, and he didn't want to be anywhere near here. For once, he didn't want to help anyone. He just wanted Calleigh safe, preferably in his arms.

All too soon, he felt a masculine hand grip his shoulder. "Eric…" Wolfe said, waiting for him to turn. But Eric could only put up a hand, leg bouncing anxiously as he contemplated what the hell he was going to do now.

"I just need a minute," Eric insisted, not wanting the comfort or sympathy he knew were going to be in Wolfe's eyes when he turned. He didn't want to be around anyone, really.

"_Eric_," Wolfe urged harder this time, and something in his voice cut through to Eric's vulnerable heart. He turned, brows still furrowed in anger, and immediately followed Wolfe's eyes and subtle but knowing smile toward the remains of the building. Like the sun finally peeking through the clouds on an overcast day, he immediately found the one bright spot amid the bleak landscape of grey rubble and ash: a slip of platinum blonde hair, along with what remained white of the white button-up he'd watched her shrug on that morning.

_Calleigh._

Despite the blood streaking down her arm and covering one side of her favorite dress pants, she looked surprisingly fine – and so did the toddler on her other hip, clinging to the collar of her shirt.

Eric began to jog towards her, and when Calleigh spotted him, her relief gave her a fresh wave of analgesia right about when her adrenaline was wearing off and she was beginning to notice the throbbing in her left thigh again. She smiled despite it, her eyes an emotional mix of apologetic, relieved, and completely overwhelmed as Eric finally made it to her. He immediately wrapped his arms around her, one hand cupping the back of her neck through her hair that was now covered in ash and debris.

"You scared the crap out me," he breathed out, pressing his lips to her forehead and closing his eyes in awe, reveling in the warmth of her in his arms. "I thought I lost you."

"I'm sorry," she said honestly.

"Don't be," he assured, blinking his eyes open just as quickly to take her in again, making sure this was real. His eyes met hers in understanding. "I would've done the same thing."

His eyes drifted meaningfully to the little girl in her arms who was shockingly quiet, putting a supportive arm alongside Calleigh's on the girl's back. "Is she okay?" And then, eyes tracing over Calleigh's cut up arm and the fresh blood still running down and dripping down to her pants, he said, "You both need to get checked out."

He put an arm on Calleigh's shoulder, beginning to urge her toward the nearest cluster of ambulances, and that was when he noticed the lag in her left leg as she began to step forward. Her lips twitched in pain despite her determination to get there herself and she placed a hand on his chest for support, actually balling her hand into a fist at the pain.

His eyes questioned hers, head tilting with concern and sympathy. "Hey, you're not okay."

"I'm fine," she assured, stubborn but honest. "It's just gonna bruise really bad."

"Let me take her," he offered to take some of the weight off her leg. He began to slip his hands under the little girl's arms but she stiffened instinctively, her hand fisting the collar of Calleigh's shirt deeper into her palm. She wasn't upset yet; Calleigh wasn't even sure if she could comprehend what was going on, but by the way she stiffened and couldn't seem to take her frozen eyes off the crumbled building, Calleigh was wondering if she was starting to go into shock.

"I've got her," Calleigh assured, not having the heart to let Eric tear her away when she was so desperately clinging to her. Eric's lips tightened at her stubbornness, but he wrapped his arm around her waist, at least letting her shift some of her weight into him as they made their way to the nearest group of ambulances.

It was complete chaos: an overwhelming blur of rescue crew members shouting directions and performing emergency interventions on a handful of critical patients, people screaming names of missing coworkers and friends, and more people with blood-stained clothing than Eric had ever seen in one place before. It was traumatic even for him, and as he checked back on Calleigh, something got to him about the way she was holding the little girl against the crook of her neck, shielding her from the injured people and talking to her to get her to stop looking at the building.

Eric managed to flag down an EMT. "Hey, I got a little girl here with a head wound and an injured cop," he said.

With experienced, knowing eyes, the guy quickly looked them over and triaged. Pulling the only spare gurney, he tilted his head and tried to get a good look at the little girl's head, but she was buried too far against Calleigh at this point.

"Hey cutie," he tried, as patient and gentle as he could be in this rushed chaos. "Can I take a look at that little cut on your head?"

Her brown eyes were staring straight ahead, exhausted and overwhelmed, but when Calleigh went to hand her over to the EMT, the change snapped her out of whatever daze she'd been in.

"No," she insisted and stiffened again, practically climbing back up into Calleigh's arms. Unsettled now, she reached her hand out behind Calleigh's back, pointing at what was left of the building and beginning to cry once again. "We need to go get mama now."

Calleigh's heart began to ache all over again, because she had no idea where this little girl's parents were, but if her mom had been in that building with her, the chances of her making it out unscathed were beginning to look slim. She swallowed hard and met Eric's eyes emotionally, then the EMT's, turning so he could at least check out the bump on her head while she was pointing at the building.

"We're gonna look for her, I promise," Calleigh told her softly, studying the EMT as she waited for the verdict.

He pressed his lips together in thought and then grabbed a roll of gauze, pressing it against Calleigh's arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding and then quickly wrapping it.

"You're gonna need stitches and the girl should have a scan," he decided, nodding toward the ambulance toward his right. "Load up."

As Eric went to move forward with them, the EMT gently touched his shoulder. "No family today," he said, leveling with him one emergency responder to another. "It's gonna be full, you can meet them at Dade Memorial."

Eric nodded regretfully but understandingly. As much as he didn't want to be away from Calleigh right now, he also had no intention of taking up a much-needed spot in an ambulance given the circumstances. But Calleigh pressed her hand to his chest, the blood already showing through her temporary bandage.

"You should stay," she insisted, green eyes drawing his in. Hers were emotional and soft but insistent and his brows furrowed, hand landing over the back of hers to take her hand in his. "I'm fine and the hospital will be a mess, and I've gotta call someone from CPS to be with her…"

He watched her rationalize it all in awe; she was right, and he loved her even more for it though it made his heart hurt right now. He wanted nothing more than to be right next to her right now, but here he was, scot free and able to help in a world that very much needed him right now.

"Cal…" he uttered emotionally, hand lifting up to cup her cheek as he tried to take in everything he loved about her all at once.

"We get to see each other at the end of the day today," she reminded him, and he thought her eyes were growing a little glossy. "Others won't be so lucky." Her eyes strayed pointedly to the little girl in her arms and he understood immediately: her mom was likely inside, and whether she'd survived remained to be seen. "Stay and make a difference." She squeezed his hand, reading his mind as his eyes drifted over her arm. "I'm okay."

Eric nodded in acceptance, worries put to rest for now. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I love you," she said softly, watching the way her words changed his eyes before she leaned in, briefly pressing her lips to his.

Although they said it often, those words weren't ones they threw around all the time, especially not in the middle of a workday. But today was different. It held a little more weight today.

"I love you, too," he said, watching them board the ambulance just before it took off.

* * *

It had taken him a while to find her. Between the chaos of the hospital after the day Miami had had, her lack of a cell phone, and the fact that she'd been discharged a while ago and was no longer in her own room, he'd had to do some asking around. Tracking her down had been worth it, though, because when he finally made it to the doorway of Room 524 after 7 p.m., she was quite a sight. She was posted up in that little girl's room, playing sentry until the events of the day likely coupled with some potent pain medication drew her into sleep just like the toddler in the hospital bed – only Calleigh was on the little loveseat afforded to the nicer children's rooms, turned slightly onto her side with a throw pillow beneath her head. Her freshly stitched and bandaged arm was looking a lot better, carefully resting over her side, but he immediately noticed that "bruised" leg of hers was delicately stretched out like she had to be careful what position she put it in.

His eyes quickly drifted over the girl, making sure there were no signs of complications for her as she finally slept soundly, before he made his way to Calleigh. He gently ran his palm down her upper arm, watching her eyes flutter groggily and a relieved smile spread across her lips as his touch registered in her foggy mind. Scooping an arm under her, he carefully shifted her until he could wedge himself between her and the sofa. She adjusted, wincing as she did, so she was a little more upright and could lean against his chest.

"Hey gorgeous," he said softly.

"Mmm," she mumbled, half-scoffing, half-laughing at that greeting in her current state. Her white button-up and pinstripe pants were covered in ash and caked with blood, her hair held a tint of grey due to the ash, and although she hadn't looked in a mirror lately, she was pretty sure her eyes were red-rimmed and exhausted, her make-up smudged. She practically melted into his chest, her body craving nothing but sleep and Eric's arms as the narcotics she'd actually accepted seeped through her system.

He knew without asking that she was medicated; it was in her eyes, in the way she actually gave into her exhaustion in a public place rather than fighting it. And it meant that she'd been in a heck of a lot of pain because of all the times he'd seen her injured on the job, she'd never actually accepted anything besides a little ibuprofen.

"How's the leg?"

"Better after the Percocet." She smiled and he chuckled, hand drifting up and down her upper arm soothingly. "But it's okay...x-ray was clear, it's just bruised so bad they put me on blood thinners because they're worried about clots...which means I'm supposed to stay out of the field."

She sighed heavily at that, like she'd actually try with her stitched arm and limp. He wouldn't put it past her. "No offense but I'm pretty okay with that right now."

She smiled knowingly, feeling his fingertips dip down near her bandage.

"What happened?"

Calleigh took a deep breath in, letting it run through her mind for the millionth time that day.

"I got her out just as I heard the top floors start to go. It was crazy… I knew we were too far to make it to the cleared entrance, but we were near an edge of the building, so I just kept running down and towards the side of the building – what _used _to be the side of the building." She shook her head; that's where it got blurry – a haze of panic, running on pure survival instinct and adrenaline. "It's all a blur but we got to an edge where there was just this avalanche of rocks and glass...what had been a glass wall. I had to jump down and –" She stopped, glancing down at her arm and moving her fingers in and out of a fist to test the movement. "I remember landing and my arm going through some glass, then we just had to climb down the rubble and we were out."

Eric sighed disbelievingly, ducking his head down to press his lips to the crown of her head and lingering there. "It's crazy that you made it out, you know." And then, eyes drifting up to the little girl whose life she'd literally saved, he added, "You did good today, Cal."

"Thanks." She smiled sadly, following his gaze. "I'm just glad I could help one person today… There were a lot I couldn't," she said wistfully, remembering the lost lives she'd passed amid the debris. "How bad is it looking?"

Eric pressed his lips together before he answered, hesitating. "Pretty bad," he admitted regretfully. "Eighty-three gone so far, a lot more injured."

Calleigh closed her eyes and breathed out heavily, taking a moment to press her forehead against his chest.

"How's the kid?" he asked softly after a few seconds had passed.

"She's good." A little smile curved Calleigh's lips – a small piece of good news today. "Her name's Abby. Abigail Rose Barlow, she told me very proudly." Turning a little more solemn, she continued, "Nothing on her mom yet 'cause Child Protective Services and PD are kinda slammed, but we know that she worked in the building. Sounds like she brought her to work with her today because she was sick and couldn't go to preschool. Poor kid, she has a fever on top of everything. They want to monitor her overnight because of that and her head."

"No CPS at all yet?" Eric asked, a little concerned. She was here all alone, and a hospital was no place for a three-year-old to navigate on her own.

"No, but I talked to them earlier. Someone should be here tonight," she assured. "She's got a case manager and case advocate from the hospital keeping an eye on her, but naturally they're spread a little thin today. The advocate had to go stay with a little boy going into surgery. I told her I'd wait around 'til she got back."

"So you were sleeping on the job," he teased, already adjusting to let her lay down a little more against him.

"Hey, she's been out for a while," she defended, the way his chuckle rumbled throughout his chest beneath her lulling her back towards sleep.

"Go back to sleep and get some rest," he urged, running a hand up and down her side imploringly. "I'll wait with you."

Between her exhaustion and the narcotics, he didn't have to do much to convince her to rest. She easily relaxed against him, eyes fluttering closed much quicker than they'd opened, the only sound registering in her mind the steady drum of his heart beneath her.


	4. Tuesday

**Tuesday**

When Calleigh woke the next morning, she immediately felt a little off. The room was much, much brighter than it normally was when she stirred, the off-white walls beaming with the sunlight streaming in. There were even a couple patches of direct light slipping between the curtains, casting bright patches along the wall and wood floor of their bedroom. She could tell right away that it was much later than she normally woke – and if that hadn't done it, the sight of Eric perched at the edge of the bed with a cup of coffee in one hand was certainly a clue. His other hand had apparently been the only reason she'd even opened her eyes, resting over her side after imploringly drawing it up and down.

"Mornin', sunshine," he teased, voice a perfect mix of a little rough from sleep, but smoothed by a cup of coffee and a little time awake. He'd clearly been up for a while; he was mostly dressed for work already, the smell of his body wash still fresh on his skin.

"Mmm," she let out, brows furrowing as she began to push herself upright. She'd just propped herself up against the headboard with a pillow when a sleepy yawn overtook her, and Eric smirked with amusement as he offered her the mug. "For me?"

Eric handed it over in response, watching her smile as she took in the aroma, the creamy light brown color that spoke of the splash of milk and small spoonful of sugar he'd mixed in for her. She took a sip, letting the morning caffeine fix wash over her and begin to help uncloud her mind from the haze of drug-induced sleep.

"Guess you slept well," he surmised.

"Yeah, I haven't slept like that in a long time." She smiled at him in between sips, and as much as he hated that she'd been injured to the extent she actually needed it, he had to admit that Calleigh all off-kilter from a little medication was rather adorable. He could count the number of times he'd woke before her on one hand, and watching her green eyes adjust to the bright morning light was quite an experience – not to mention she was all off her normal routine. She'd showered the caked blood and ash from her body last night, but between her exhaustion and her stitched up arm, she hadn't been able to style her hair straight. As a result, it had dried naturally in her pretty waves he didn't know why she so adamantly straightened away, which was just adding to his attraction to her right now. And she'd been in a sentimental and cozy mood last night, so she'd thrown on one if his old University of Miami t-shirts that was entirely too big for her.

Yeah, she was pretty adorable, he thought, another amused smile tugging at his lips.

Sensing his eyes on her and his thoughts wandering, she smiled, something unspoken passing between them.

"How's the leg?" he asked.

She tried to bend it in toward her chest and winced a little, transferring the mug into one hand so she could push the covers down. She bit her lip at what she'd uncovered: a huge, multicolored bruised that spanned nearly the whole length of her thigh, dark purple at the center with splashes of red and blue radiating outward.

"Ouch," he let out, eyes meeting hers sympathetically, hand gently hooking around the back of her knee beneath the bruise. "You taking it easy today?"

She smiled sadly, knowing that if ever there were a reason to take a day off, this would be it. And yet she couldn't imagine doing so given the circumstances… "I was going to see what I could do in the lab," she told him. "I just feel like I need to be helping somehow…"

She shrugged and he nodded in understanding. He took a breath in, looking like he was going to tell her something for a moment, but then he thought better of it. "I was gonna see if you wanted me to wait a few so you could ride in with me. Probably shouldn't be driving on your meds…"

Calleigh smiled in a little amusement. "I think I'm done with the Percocet. You can go ahead, I wanted to check in on Abby before I go in, make sure they tracked down her mom and dad."

Eric's eyes changed then, a little sadness and regret clinging to them as he quickly averted them. She knew immediately that he knew more than she did, and she watched with worry as he took a deep breath in and then pressed his lips together.

"About that…" he began, slowly meeting her eyes again. "Frank called this morning. Turns out her mom didn't make it out of the building."

Calleigh nodded slowly in acceptance, swallowing hard as she remembered the heartbreaking cry of the three-year-old for her mother in the wreckage of steel and ash.

"And," Eric continued regretfully, "her father died in Afghanistan a year and a half ago, so...they're sorting out the legal stuff and tracking down family now."

Calleigh bit her lip and nodded again, a little quicker this time, and she was kind of overwhelmed by the warm tears she felt trying to well up in her eyes. She blinked them back with practiced calculation, taking a deep breath in through her nose.

"Tough break." she said, sitting up a little straighter to keep her composure together. "She's a sweet kid."

"Yeah," Eric agreed sadly, carefully watching her eyes. He'd noticed the flicker of sympathy, the way her eyes had just almost become glossy. "At least she'll go with family." He ran his palm over the back of her hair, leaning in as he drew her close, pressed his lips to hers, and rested his forehead against her own. "You sure you're gonna be okay on your own?" he asked, eyes drifting over her deeply bruised thigh.

"Yeah," she assured, taking another sip of her coffee when he pulled back and squeezing his hand encouragingly with her free one. "Go ahead, I'll see you in a little bit."

* * *

With the help of Miami Dade PD, Calleigh had made a stop to the home of Cassandra Barlow – Abby's mother – before they reached the hospital. They'd lived in a modest condo just outside Miami Beach, and her quick ten minutes inside had provided her with just enough information to make her heart break a little more over what Abby had lost. She was clearly loved and cared for, with family pictures perfectly arranged over nearly every surface and wall: baby photos, professional and candid shots of the three of them in various settings, her soldier father still present in most. There had been children's things neatly tucked away in every room, a testament to how much her mother valued letting her play in every room and be a part of everything.

Calleigh had quickly grabbed a few items before making her way back to Dade Memorial. She was oddly nervous as she entered Abby's room, unsure of what to say or do given the past 24 hours. They were kind of strangers still, bonded only through yesterday's trauma, and Calleigh had absolutely no idea what you were supposed to say to a three-year-old who'd just lost her last remaining parent.

Luckily, Abby made it much easier than Calleigh had expected. Despite everything, Abby's eyes lit up in recognition as Calleigh made her way into her room.

"Calleigh!" she said, lips almost curving up into a smile. Despite recent developments, she looked a lot better than yesterday. Her face held a little more color, even though her eyes were obviously a bit swollen and red from crying. The swelling on her forehead had gone down considerably, and she'd had the ash and grime that had coated her skin and hair washed away.

"Hi," Calleigh said with a little laugh. "You remember me."

"You got me unstuck."

"I did." Calleigh smiled at her simplified, matter-of-fact statement and took a seat next to her bed. She studied her expectant eyes for a moment, not sure what to say next. "Is your head feeling better?" she finally decided on, eyes flickering over to her CPS case manager who'd taken over her spot on the sofa - Marla, Calleigh remembered from yesterday.

Abby nodded yes, then crawled forward in the too-big hospital bed toward the edge, closer to Calleigh. She pointed to Calleigh's arm, taking in the thin bandage over her stitches.

Calleigh raised her brows questioningly, not sure what she wanted until she met Abby's questioning, somewhat sympathetic eyes.

"You want to know how my arm is?" Calleigh asked, and Abby nodded softly.

"You got hurt, too," Abby said sadly, and Calleigh hoped the blood and glass shards in her arm hadn't been too traumatic for her.

"I did, but it feels better now," Calleigh assured her. "Thank you for asking."

Abby smiled, sitting back on her heels as she swatted a muss of dark blonde curls from her face.

Lifting up the bag she'd set next to her chair, Calleigh began to sift through it. "I brought you some things from home," she said, softly enthusiastic. She drew out a Frozen blanket, a few coloring books and crayons, and a couple items from a toy kitchen that had been sitting out on the kitchen counter.

Abby's eyes lit up again, happily tucking her favorite blanket around her and laying the books out on her bed. She immediately flipped one open and dumped the crayons out in a pile.

"I go home soon?" she asked Calleigh at the mention of her home, clearly not yet understanding how much her life had changed in one day.

"I don't know, sweetie," Calleigh responded carefully, eyes drifting over to the CPS employee who smiled back sadly. "They're trying to figure out what your mom wanted and get in touch with your family."

Abby pursed her lips in thought for a moment before leaning forward onto a coloring book and picking up a crayon. Calleigh wasn't sure how much of that she'd understand, but she didn't want to lie to her or deny her a response. Abby has retreated into her own world a little at the mention of her mother and Calleigh sighed heavily, wishing she could do more to ease her pain.

"Looks like you have a lot of coloring to do and I have to get to work, but I'm gonna give Marla my number and I want you to have her call me if you need anything, okay?"

Abby paused, purple crayon still pressed to the page, and she smiled a little sadly. "Okay."

Calleigh's eyes lingered on her a moment longer before she stood. Marla met her eyes, silently nodding towards the hall. They met at the door, slipping through it quietly, and Marla let it close behind them with a click.

"I don't think she understands much of what is going on," Marla told her softly. Calleigh could tell it made her job both easier and harder in different ways.

"She shouldn't have to," Calleigh said regretfully, shrugging in defeat. "She's three."

"Yeah," Marla agreed sadly. "We're working with legal to figure out who her mom listed as next of kin."

"Let us know if you need help tracking anyone down," Calleigh offered. And then, through the open blinds to Abby's room, she watched Abby carefully arrange the kitchen toys on her bedside tray, setting up quite the pretend-feast. A smile tugged at the corner of Calleigh's lips as she watched on. Turning back to Marla, she asked, "Do you think you could let me know when her family comes for her?"

Calleigh crossed her arms over her chest, shrugging and sighing a little at her concern. "It's silly, but I feel kind of responsible for her after getting her out of that building… Just want to see her get her happy ending."

"It's not silly," Marla assured, touching her arm supportively. "You're a good cop. I'll definitely let you know."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Calleigh said, fishing out a card from her bag and handing it over. "The bottom number is my cell phone."

Marla accepted it, running it against her opposite finger as she told Calleigh "Good luck with the case."

Calleigh smiled appreciatively as she began to walk toward the elevators, a slight limp present in her step. "Good luck with yours," she said back, eyes drifting back to Abby before she left.


	5. Wednesday

_Note: Thank you all so much for all of the interest and support with this one! I'm so happy y'all are invested in it and enjoying it. :) This chapter is a long one, so get ready. And it's well-timed because by the time most of you are reading it, it'll probably be Wednesday. So happy Wednesday!_

* * *

**Wednesday**

As she walked down the hallway of the crime lab, Calleigh's nose was buried in the manila folder that held the report she'd just picked up from trace. She was so wrapped up in elemental analyses, her mind already stringing various parts of her case together, that she almost didn't realize someone had fallen into step beside her until several yards later.

She smiled without looking, easily sensing his presence beside her.

"Hi," she finally said once he'd walked half the hall with her. She looked up then, finding an amused smile on his lips as he admired her.

"Hey. You onto something?"

"Maybe." She stopped in the middle of the empty hallway, brows knitting together. "What do you know about weedkiller?"

Eric faced her, slipping his hands into his pockets. "I know that I should never own a home without an HOA."

Calleigh rolled her eyes and smiled, gently swatting him with the folder. "Maybe Nat will be more useful; she gardens."

A moment later, all too quickly, she asked, "Hey, how's the bombing case?"

The mood between them changed instantly. It did when anyone brought it up, but for those who had been there and involved, it was especially sobering. And it had been a trying few days following the tragedy. Despite putting in countless hours, they were no closer to solving it. They'd identified the source of the bomb and the type, but there were no remaining pieces to identify a signature. They didn't even have any leads on a bomber yet, which was odd. Some evidence and murmurings pointed to terrorism, while others suggested it had been the work of someone with a personal vendetta – something against a corporation, maybe, or a disgruntled employee.

It bothered her that so many lives had been lost or changed forever, but that they weren't at all close to bringing someone to justice. And to make matters worse, Horatio had taken her off the case. One of them had to focus on the handful of other crimes that people somehow managed to carry out in the wake of the tragedy, and he'd decided that since she'd been the most involved and affected by the ordeal, it would be good for her to take a mental break from it. It worked out, anyhow, since she couldn't go in the field for a while – her in the lab, Frank chasing down suspects…

Eric pressed his lips together, meeting her eyes emotionally. "About the same. Ryan's identifying survivors from the area near the bombing to bring them in for questioning, see if they saw anything, but…" He trailed off regretfully, searching for the right words.

"There aren't many?" she supplied for him.

"Right," he agreed, lips tensing. "And the floors shifted so much, it's hard to figure out who was where."

"It was a mess," she breathed out in understanding and remembrance. Maybe it was for the best that she wasn't on this case, they both realized…

"How's your leg? You look less gimpy today."

She put up an indignant smile at that, shaking her head and letting her eyes fall to her thigh even though she couldn't see any of the damage through her white pants. "It's fine. It was bothering me so I caved and took some Advil."

Eric nodded in understanding, but pursed his lips as he rested his hand over her forearm, thumbing the edge of a large bandaid she'd used to cover up her stitches. "Maybe you should try resting."

She furrowed her brows playfully, already backing away towards a layout room to go back to work as she gave him a look that questioned whether he knew her at all. "That doesn't sound like me…"

Eric was shaking his head in amusement, but she was a little confused as she watched his expression change just before the backs of her legs bumped into something or someone unexpectedly – more like someone bumped into her. She turned and put her hand down instinctively, finding the dirty blonde curls of a toddler behind her just as Abby wrapped her arms around one of Calleigh's legs.

"Officer Calleigh!"

"Abby," Calleigh said in surprise, thankful she hadn't tripped over the little girl.

Eric watched as she carefully knelt down, unable to bend her bad leg too far and instead taking a knee with that leg.

"What are you doing here?" Calleigh asked the little girl, who was looking like she'd been discharged from the hospital based on her clothing: jeans, a navy shirt with sparkly silver stars, and white Keds.

Just then, Ryan and a woman dressed nicely and hugging a couple file folders to her chest caught up to them.

"Sorry, she got away from us…" the woman apologized. "She just took off when she saw you."

"It's okay, we know each other," Calleigh assured, never taking her eyes off Abby, who smiled like they had some special little secret. Calleigh's eyes reluctantly drifted up to the woman, who looked suspiciously like yet another person from Child Protective Services. "And you are…?"

"Hillary." The woman extended her hand, which Calleigh shook – without standing up. "I'm her case manager."

"What happened to Marla?" Calleigh asked immediately, eyes dancing between Abby and Hillary questioningly. Abby stood there listlessly, seemingly already used to being passed between various adults she didn't know.

"One of her cases got put on the docket this week. She's on call to appear in court all week, so I took on Abby's case."

Calleigh pressed her lips together in disapproval, eyes drifting back to Abby's. Her expressive brown eyes were oddly hard to read right now, but a bit of worry seemed to color them as they watched the two women speak.

"Abby, we have to go talk with Officer Wolfe now," the woman tried, taking Abby's hand. Abby pried it away, resting a hand over Calleigh's knee instead.

"I talk to Officer Calleigh instead," she insisted, and Calleigh's heart absolutely melted when Abby looked up at her hopefully.

"Uhh, Officer Calleigh has to talk about other cases," Ryan attempted, receiving a less than convinced look from Abby that made Calleigh press her lips and roll them to keep from smiling. "And I need your special help for my case."

Calleigh had fully put it together now. Ryan was questioning survivors from the second floor, and Abby was one of very few of them. Calleigh stood up now, leveling with Ryan as she asked "You're questioning her?" in a voice that revealed her disapproval and concern.

"She's one of the only people we _can_ question."

"She's _three_, Ryan. And do I need to remind you of what she went through that day?" Her cop mind wasn't exactly at the forefront of her brain right now – and somewhere she was aware of it, somewhere she knew that that was exactly why Horatio had pulled her from this case. Somewhere she knew that this was a completely inappropriate challenge she was making to a fellow CSI right now in front of a kid's case manager. And so she wasn't at all surprised when Eric stepped in, wrapping his hand around her arm and calming her in a way that only he could.

"Cal," he warned, drawing her close to him. "We don't know this guy's MO, if he's got other attacks planned… We're just trying to make sure another kid doesn't have to experience this."

"I know." Her brows furrowed, and she bounced her leg anxiously. "I'm sorry," she said to Ryan, with an apologetic glance at Hillary, too. And then she knelt back down to Abby, meeting her expectant eyes. She still felt oddly protective over the little girl after literally saving her and hearing her cry for her mother, but she was also realizing that Abby was perceptive and observant, and there _was_ a possibility she had actually seen or heard something that might help.

"Hey, do you think you could go talk with my friend Ryan for a little while?" she asked sweetly, nodding back at Ryan. "You can come find me after."

Abby looked over Ryan suspiciously; he seemed a little less scary as Calleigh's friend Ryan than as Officer Wolfe, but she still wasn't convinced. She drew her eyes back to Calleigh's skeptically, clearly not wanting to go.

"What if I go with you?" Calleigh asked, glancing back at Ryan for confirmation that it was okay. "You'll still have to talk to Ryan because he has some important questions I think you could really help him with, but I'll be with you the whole time."

Abby pressed her lips together, contemplating it as she eyed Ryan. "Promise?"

"I promise." Calleigh smiled encouragingly, tucking her hair behind her ear as she waited for Abby's response.

"Okay," she finally decided, twirling idly as her anxious toddler energy got the better of her.

"Okay," Calleigh repeated, standing up and motioning with her manila folder for Ryan to lead the way. Abby's hand found hers, and Eric watched in awe and something entirely more complex as Calleigh took it, glanced back to smile at him meaningfully, and then followed Ryan and Hillary into a room.

He watched on as Calleigh helped that little girl through Ryan's questions, reliving what she may not have even known was the worst day of her short life thus far. He noted the way they'd sat down on the bench together, Abby quickly climbing into Calleigh's lap and Calleigh's arms instinctively supporting her. He noted the way Abby responded to her, seemingly hearing Ryan sometimes but only ever really listening to Calleigh. And then there was the smile Calleigh let her have when she insisted on dumping toys out of her backpack, long overdue for a make-believe session, and they included some of the ones she'd brought her in the hospital.

It got to him in ways he wasn't quite prepared for and he found himself frozen in place in the hall, watching her for far, far too long instead of working his own case.

* * *

Eric found himself smiling as he stepped into the dim ballistics lab, his eyes immediately finding Calleigh's bright blonde hair and white lab coat. She was easy to find amid the blacks and dark blues of the lab. It was one of the only areas of the lab not surrounded by glass, and he was secretly thankful he didn't have to spend a ton of time down here because it kind of felt like a dungeon.

Calleigh loved it, though. He admired her frame from behind, a cursory glance telling him they seemed to be relatively alone in the quiet lab. He crept up behind her, almost wishing he could see the smile he knew was curving her lips as his hands slipped beneath her outstretched, hard-at-work arms and wrapped around her waist.

She continued to scribble notes on her report – bullet weights and striation characteristics – and he could feel her smiling now that he'd rested his forehead against her temple.

"We alone?" he asked softly, arms further encircling her.

She leaned forward despite the intrusion, eyeing the model number on the gun she'd test fired before she copied it down.

"Lucky for you, yes." Despite her words, she was grinning now. She would've minded this level of a display of affection had they not been alone, but she knew that he knew that. "Shane took the afternoon off."

The longer he lingered against her, holding her like he was thinking of something, the more she began to wonder. "Something on your mind?"

"You were cute with that little girl," he said all too quickly, like it had been on the tip of his tongue.

It made Calleigh set her pen down and turn in his arms, resting her palms back against the counter. She smiled at the lopsided smirk on his lips and the coyness in his eyes. "And?"

His hands found her hips, eyes lingering there too as he collected his thoughts into something coherent. "It just has me thinking about our, uh, plans."

Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip, drawing it in as she let his words sink in and nodded. "It has been six months."

"Mmhmm." That was the timeline her doctor had suggested – to come back if she wasn't pregnant within six months because she was nearing 38 and they may not have a ton of time. "Might be time for more...aggressive measures."

Calleigh raised her brows in challenge at that, pursing her lips to one side to keep from smiling. He chuckled at her response, leaning in and drawing her close enough to press his lips to hers. His mouth slid against hers after a quick moment, chaste but meaningful, but before he could get too lost he felt her hand press against his chest, followed quickly by her forehead.

"You're distracting me," she accused regretfully. But this was arguably the most intimate moment they'd ever had at work and despite how much she wanted to keep her head rested against his chest, let her body kiss his, and revel in the feel of his arms around her, in how adorable his baby fever was, she was kind of supposed to be working and she'd already spent a good chunk of her day helping them with Abby and their case instead of her own, not that she minded.

"Sorry," he apologized softly, almost enticing her to stay by the fingers he'd begun gently running up and down her back. "We can talk tonight."

"Definitely," she promised. "And I'll make an appointment," she added, lifting her head up to smile at him as he squeezed her hand.

* * *

Calleigh was securing the lock to the ballistics lab's gun safe when she felt her phone buzz in the pocket of her lab coat. She closed the door behind her – the first line of defense – and heard it reset with a click before she fished her phone out, glancing at the screen as she walked back to her desk. She'd expected it to be Eric, asking her if she was headed home soon because it was after five. But instead the text from Ryan had her haphazardly unbuttoning her lab coat and tossing it aside as she practically ran out of her lab.

"_Any chance you can work your magic on this kid again? We've got a situation up here…"_

When she made it back to the holding room where she'd left Hillary and Abby, Abby was red in the face and hiccuping from how hard and long she'd been bawling. She was continually reaching for someone or something, yet wouldn't let anyone touch her, and Calleigh could see welts of splotches around her brown eyes and wet lashes.

"What's going on?" Calleigh immediately asked as she entered the room.

At first, Abby had been so far gone she hadn't even realized someone else had entered the room. But the moment she heard Calleigh's voice she was pushing up from the floor on wobbly legs, stumbling towards her, and desperately reaching for her.

"I don't wanna go to new house," she wailed as Calleigh scooped her up and settled her on her hip. Abby's words had her looking at Hillary for an explanation.

"I have to take her to an emergency foster home," Hillary explained in a rush, throwing her hands up in defeat. "Legal hasn't sorted out the mother's estate and next of kin. She didn't have a will, and Abby's been discharged from the hospital. It's protocol and she has nowhere else to go."

"There's nothing else you can do?" Calleigh asked, disbelievingly and understandingly all at once. She was continually surprised by how messed up the system seemed to be, yet part of her knew this was just how things worked. Just as her line of work sometimes took people down paths they didn't deserve, children could easily get lost between cracks in the system. And she felt like Abby already was, between this and being passed between case managers already.

"No," Hillary said regretfully. "I mean, we don't know who in her family she's going with yet, she doesn't have local family members... This is protocol. It's not like I can take her home with me."

Abby's wails had dissolved into hiccups and soft sobs at Calleigh's intervention, but the word "home" seemed to send her over the edge again. And suddenly she was asking to go home with her mom and Calleigh knew there was absolutely no way she could send her off with strangers, protocol be damned. Maybe it would have been a perfectly fine foster home, but she knew that being passed off to yet another strange person temporarily was going to do more harm than good right now. And then there was always the chance that it _wouldn't_ be a great foster home, which Calleigh honestly couldn't even think about. Or that there would be too many other kids which would be absolutely overwhelming at this point in time.

Between Hillary's words – "it's not like I can take her home with me" – and the way Abby was fiercely clinging to her, the only familiar person she had right now, an idea popped into Calleigh's mind. It was a crazy one, but it swept through her conscious like a runaway train and made terrifying sense the more she thought about it.

"Ryan, can you draw up a protective custody order for me?" Calleigh asked over Abby's cries.

Ryan froze in place, thumb pausing over the brow he'd been anxiously running it over. He was confused at first, and then his confusion gave way to astonishment as he understood what was unfolding before him. She was going to put Abby in their protective custody as a material witness – in _her_ protective custody, he was pretty sure.

Calleigh's hand was running through Abby's frazzled curls as the little girl buried her face in the crook of Calleigh's neck. Calleigh placed her hand over her back, soothingly rubbing up and down.

"Calleigh," Ryan began cautiously. "What exactly are you doing?"

Ryan met her intense eyes, which were full of determination as he watched her cross a line he'd rarely seen her cross. Calleigh didn't often mix her personal and professional life, and he had the feeling she was about to fully blur that line. And deep down, he knew she wouldn't unless she had a hell of a good reason.

"Keeping a kid in a safe place until her family can get her and we know what's going on with this case," Calleigh insisted, eyes dancing between Ryan and Hillary for approval although she didn't really need it. "She's your witness, right?"

Ryan's lips tightened in a sad smile, and as he watched Calleigh with that little girl he couldn't help but feel like he was watching something much deeper unfold. In silent agreement, he opened the door and walked into the hall in search of a free computer to file an order.

"Hey," Calleigh whispered to Abby, dipping her head down toward the little girl's ear. "We won't make you go anywhere you aren't comfortable going."

Abby quieted a little, a few sniffles and gasps punctuating the silence as she tried to catch her breath.

"But we gotta have an important talk, okay?"

Calleigh felt Abby nod against her and she bent down, sitting Abby on the edge of the bench they'd been on earlier. Abby swatted mussed hair away and leaned forward, grabbing onto the edge of the bench.

"I know that this is really hard and scary," Calleigh began, fully kneeling in front of her. "But I know that you know that your mom is gone and you can't go home…" she reminded now that Abby wasn't in such a panic. She was as gentle as possible, but she knew there was no sugar coating it, not even to a three-year-old. Abby's lip quivered, but she smartly understood that Calleigh was actually talking with and not to her like everyone else had been.

"We're trying to find your mom's family, but it might take a little time," Calleigh further explained, trying not to let her own eyes water at Abby's attempts to keep it together. And then, feeling oddly nervous about putting herself out there, she asked, "Do you want to come stay with me until then?"

Abby hesitated, looking back at Hillary like she might need permission before her watery brown eyes focused on Calleigh's kind green eyes and patient smile. She nodded as she slipped two fingers into her mouth and Calleigh's smile broadened. Reaching out, Calleigh put a comforting hand over the crown of Abby's head and smoothed her hair back behind her ear.

"Okay," she said decidedly, looking for Ryan and that paperwork.

* * *

It was past six before Calleigh was slipping into the layout room Eric was still posted up in, evidence laid out before him. He'd been logging a ton of hours after the bombing, and as a result he'd often been wrapped up this week long past when they normally left.

Calleigh bit her lip as she maneuvered the door open carefully, balancing the sleeping toddler against her shoulder and turning so the door didn't have any chance of bumping into her as they slipped through. Eric turned at the sound of the door creaking shut, having to do a double-take as he first registered that it was Calleigh and then that it was Calleigh looking awfully adorable with the surprise of a sleeping Abby splayed across her chest.

"Hi," Calleigh said softly, tired but bright eyes a little guilty.

"Hey." He chuckled at her expression, eyes dancing over the two of them. "CPS didn't come back yet?"

Calleigh bit her lip and Eric's expression immediately changed, a touch of amusement coupling his suspicion.

"I did something…" Calleigh admitted vaguely, and Eric's eyes drifted down to the little girl. She was completely passed out on Calleigh now, her arms falling limp at her sides as they laid against Calleigh's body, her head on Calleigh's shoulder, hair carefully brushed away from her face and lips adorably pursed. He knew she had to be exhausted after the day she'd had.

"What'd you do?" he asked, setting his evidence aside and turning, almost knowingly studying the two of them.

"I know I should've talked to you first," she began in a ramble. "But there were extenuating circumstances and I know you would've done the same thing…"

Eric was downright smirking now. "Cal," he said softly, hand running over her arm supportively. "What'd you do?"

"Signed her into our protective custody until her family comes for her?" she supplied, smiling and wincing all at once. "They were about to take her to an emergency foster home and she lost it. She's been passed around from stranger to stranger all week without any say in where she goes or what she does, and she's way too young to get passed around the system like that and we already have stuff from your nieces and nephews coming over and…" She stopped, taking in a deep breath as her eyes drifted over the sleeping child in her arms before she sighed and met his eyes again.

Eric smiled, tucking his tongue into one cheek as he nodded in understanding. He understood completely. In fact, Calleigh had had to talk him out of similar crazy ideas under less emergent situations in the past. She'd clearly caved this time.

"So she's coming home with us?" he asked knowingly, a smile still tugging at one corner of his lips.

"Just for a night or two," Calleigh promised like it mattered to him at all.

Eric just watched her, soaking up the sight of _her_ waiting on _him_ to leave, that little girl she couldn't resist helping in her arms giving him all sorts of flashes of their future.

"I'll pack up," he assured, still amused as he turned to put his evidence away for the night.


	6. Thursday

_Note: Thanks so much for all the reviews last time. Sorry for the slight wait on this one! School was a little crazy for a bit, but I finally got some writing time in the last few days. :) Hope you enjoy. There will only be about 2 more chapters of this left, FYI._

**Thursday**

Calleigh was almost a little surprised that she'd slept until their bedroom began to lighten with the rising sun. Blinking, she immediately listened for any noises that might indicate a three-year-old was awake in an unfamiliar house, but she detected none. Rolling over onto her side, she glanced at the time on her bedside clock: 6:45. She lifted her phone to check for messages and, finding none, she yawned and returned to laying on her back.

All her stirring seemed to have lured Eric away from his slumber, though, and she felt him stir, taking a deep breath in and then turning towards her. He seemed to follow the same sequence of events: eyes fluttering open as he took in the time and then looked around as though he expected an interruption. Then, finding none, he let his head hit the pillow again and sighed sleepily.

But his hands searched for warm skin beneath the covers, slipping beneath Calleigh's tank top and sliding her towards him until she was warmly tucked against his side.

"I thought kids were supposed to be untimely alarm clocks," he murmured as he buried his face into the crook of her neck, filled with blonde hair and the scent of her shampoo. He pressed a kiss to her jaw and felt her chuckle against him.

"Right?" She took a deep breath in, letting her head rest against his. "She's probably exhausted. I get the feeling she hasn't really felt comfortable enough to relax anywhere since Monday…"

"Mmm," Eric let out in acknowledgement. And then, a little smile tugging at his lips, he rested his chin on her shoulder. "She feels comfortable with you. That's huge...making a kid feel that safe after what she's been through."

"It's just cause I got her out and now she knows me," Calleigh wrote it off.

"If you say so," Eric replied disbelievingly. He was pretty sure it had a lot more to do with honest concern, patience, her way of talking with Abby instead of over her, the way she'd shielded her from the trauma that day… "You're gonna be an amazing mom." That was his theory behind why, and he was smirking as he shared it.

Calleigh bit her lip, hiding a smile of her own as she felt him shift to press kisses from her shoulder down to her arm before he sighed. He badly wanted her, but between a kid whose schedule they didn't know sleeping in their guest room two rooms away and his 8:30 shift, he'd have to wait.

"What's the plan for her today?" he asked, propping his head up on his hand. "Is CPS coming to the station?"

"No." Calleigh pressed her lips together, knowing how monumental what she was about to tell him was. "I asked Horatio for the day."

He watched her with raised brows as she pushed herself up more in bed, propping pillows behind her.

"You keep trying to get me to rest," she defended.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually do it." He chuckled, marveling in the knowledge that it had taken a three-year-old in need to make her take a nearly unheard of day off. Since they'd been together, he could think of exactly five and a half days she'd taken off. The five were for their honeymoon; the half day had been when she'd tried to work with what everyone obviously recognized as the flu before they sent her and her plague home for containment. "Not that staying home with a three-year-old is exactly going to be restful…" he reminded her.

"Yeah, I just figured she and I could both use a day off." She smiled, meeting his understanding eyes before her eyes fell back to the bedside clock. "I'm gonna check on her and hop in the shower while you're still here if she's still asleep."

Rather than slip out of her own side of the bed, though, she slung a leg over his – a little more cautiously than she normally would've given her bruised and sore thigh – and rested her hands over his abdomen. Grinning, she leaned down and pressed a lingering kiss to his lips, a little gleam in her eyes telling him she might've had far different plans for her leisurely morning had the situation been a little different. His groan as she left the bed had her laughing softly as she entered the hall. She padded down to their guest room quietly, peeking in the room to see if she was as asleep as her silence indicated.

Through the broad crack of the door, Calleigh could see Abby sprawled out in the little nest they'd created in the queen bed of their guest room. The bed was high for a toddler, so they'd attached the safety gates they'd had around from when Eric's young nieces and nephews had stayed with them. Just in case, they'd piled a few extra pillows around her, creating quite the little cocoon of safety and comfort. She seemed to be enjoying it based on her current position: half sprawled on her stomach, half on her side, one arm draped over one of the side pillows, one trailing behind in a way that had Calleigh wondering how she still had feeling in her arm. Her loose curls were a tangled mess, fanned out both behind her and in front of her, partially covering her sleeping face.

She smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as she crept back to their bedroom.

"Still going, huh?" Eric asked when he saw her.

"Like a champ," Calleigh assured as she headed for the shower.

/~/

When she emerged with wet hair, her favorite jeans, and a casual purple shirt, the house still seemed oddly quiet. But Eric was out of bed now, the covers neatly tucked back up over the bed. She ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to help it dry as she stepped into the hall. She was just about to take a step toward their guest room when she heard it – the soft, high-pitched, heart-melting sound of a little girl giggling from downstairs. It brought a smile to her lips immediately, and she found herself chasing after the sound until it led her to the kitchen.

There, she found what was easily the most adorable sight she'd ever walked in on: Eric at their kitchen island, Abby, a pack of blueberries, a bag of chocolate chips, and what looked like pancake batter on the counter before him. Abby was reaching to dump more chocolate chips she'd evidently stolen onto the pancakes cooking on the stove, giggling again as he moved the bag out of her reach with a playfully furrowed brow.

As Calleigh took in the scene before her, she suddenly understood the way Eric had been eyeing her the last few days. Because while she'd seen him with kids dozens of times, there was something a little more heart-wrenching about watching him win over a little girl who'd shut out nearly everyone this week. Although he hadn't spent nearly as much time around her as Calleigh, Abby had taken to him quickly last night. He'd thought it was because he was Calleigh-approved and she trusted her, but Calleigh knew there was a little more to it. That was especially obvious now, when he had her giggling, smiling, and forgetting for a moment that her life had been completely turned upside down this week.

"I need more choco-chips," she insisted, pointing to the bag.

Eric chuckled as he set it on the other side of the stove, far away from her reach. "I don't think you _need_ them," he teased, eyes drifting up to Calleigh's adoring face as she stepped up to the island. "Besides, wouldn't be very nice of me to load you up with sugar and then leave you with someone else for the day."

"Calleigh!" Abby let out, little legs kicking as they dangled off the counter. "We're makin' pancakes."

"I see." She smiled, distracted for a moment as Eric poured her a cup of coffee from their pot. "Good morning," she said to Abby as she rested a hand atop her head. "Did you sleep okay?"

Abby nodded enthusiastically, now reaching for the blueberries and fiddling with the snaps that secured the top.

As Calleigh accepted her cup of coffee from Eric, she took him in for a moment, his grey dress slacks, black shoes, and blue button-up an unusual contrast to her casual clothing on a weekday morning. Her smile simply spread in acknowledgement, a matching mug of her own now cradled between her hands as she watched him move about – flipping pancakes, gathering plates, forks, and syrup. It wasn't unusual at all, aside from the chocolate chip pancakes and the toddler now funneling a fistful of blueberries into her mouth. Those not-so-little details had her heart a little weak, though, especially when her eyes doubled back to take in the way Abby's previously mussed, wild hair had been collected into a less than perfect but still impressive, altogether adorable ponytail. She visibly weakened at the thought of Eric sweeping the little girl's hair back, eyes softening and lips pressing together, and she smoothed her hand over the crown of Abby's hair before letting her fingers twist around her ponytail.

"You did this?" she asked as he stacked finished pancakes on a plate.

He glanced at her as he reached for the cup to pour fresh batter onto the pan. "No, she did," he teased, pouring a fresh round of pancakes. He put the cup back into the batter and then hesitantly, playfully – with a glance at Abby – reached for the bag of chocolate chips and returned them to her eager hands so she could drop them onto the pancakes. "Of course I did. Didn't think you'd want toddler hair in your food."

Glancing at his watch, he retrieved a travel mug from the cabinet and transferred his coffee over to it with a little top-off. "I gotta get going. You good?" he asked, nodding toward the stove and indicating that she'd have to take over.

Calleigh was still in a Eric-being-adorable-with-kids induced haze, and her nod was a little delayed, coming only after she'd stared at him for a solid minute while a smile worked its way across her lips. "Mmhmm," she finally confirmed, stepping over to take his spot in front of the stove.

Eric rested his hand over the small of her back and leaned in for a quick kiss goodbye. Instead of the quick press of his lips to hers he'd been expecting, though, he found himself stepping into her and closing his eyes as Calleigh tugged on the collar of his shirt, let her lips press and slide against his, and then captured his bottom lip between hers.

He smirked as she released him, knowing every bit of why she'd had to deepen that moment.

"Let me know if you need anything today," he said softly, hand lingering on her side.

"Will do," she promised, taking a sip of coffee and hugging her mug close to her chest.

* * *

Eric hadn't meant to stay this late. In fact, he'd planned on taking a much-needed early day. He'd been in the locker room just after four o'clock, ready to join Calleigh and Abby at a local park by the beach. But Ryan had picked up a lead related to the bombing and Eric hadn't been able to ignore his request for help chasing it down – not when the mother of a little girl currently in his care had been killed in the ordeal, and definitely not when he'd almost lost Calleigh in the carnage.

They'd made progress for a solid few hours before hitting a jurisdictional roadblock that required submitting a request for data. It had been a good stopping point, so Eric was finally slipping through the front door of his home just after eight.

It was suspiciously quiet for a house currently hosting a three-year-old, the only sound he could detect the low hum of voices from the television down the hall. The lights from it were flickering across the walls of the hallway, and as he slid his shoes off and tucked them into the closet, he could detect the distinct cartoonish voices of a kids' movie emanating from the living room. That brought a smile to his lips – one that only spread when he made his way down the hall and took in the sight that greeted him as he entered the living room.

Calleigh was on the couch, propped up against several pillows held upright against one end of the couch. A blanket was covering most of her body, warmly tucking Abby in against her chest. Abby was partially sprawled over her chest, partially wedged between Calleigh and the back of the couch. Her little arm was tucked up under her chin, clearly having tried to prop her up to watch the movie at some point. But she'd clearly lost her battle long ago, further slipping into the cozy space between Calleigh and the back of the couch.

Calleigh had evidently woken when he'd come home, her eyes sleepily blinking back at him.

"Sleeping on the job?" he teased. He watched Abby rise and fall along with Calleigh's chest as she took in a deep, wakeful breath and smiled. She'd almost forgotten about the whole protective custody thing...

"Hey," she said softly, adjusting her arm around Abby's waist.

Eric simply smiled, taking her in in what had suddenly become an oddly familiar occurrence.

With a pointed glance at Abby sleeping safely and soundly against her, Calleigh cautiously asked, "How'd it go?"

"Not bad," Eric admitted wearily. He stepped closer and leaned down, pressing a kiss to Calleigh's forehead just as her free hand came to rest against his cheek. He took a seat on the coffee table just next to them. "We've got a strong lead. Just waiting for a judge to grant us access to a database so we can track some stuff down."

"Good," was all she said, eyes blinking thoughtfully as she watched Abby.

"Sorry I didn't make it out early. Looks like you managed just fine." he said with an amused, adoring smirk. He was also a little entranced by the fact that this kid looked a million times better in her care. There were absolutely no signs of the fever or cold that had plagued her earlier in the week – the entire reason her mother had her at that office building in the first place. The wild hair that she'd been wiping away from her face every time he'd seen her had been washed and neatly swept into two pretty impressive french braids. And she appeared to have a rather adorable denim dress and black leggings on – which, he couldn't help but realize with a smile, was going to be a pain in the ass to take off an already sleeping toddler.

"Don't worry, you had a good reason," she assured, a sad smile straightening her lips as she thought of everything this case had taken from so many people's lives. "And yeah, we had a pretty good day." That brought an actual smile to her lips, recalling the grocery store and the coloring, the park and the walk – all completely mundane things that were entirely different for her with a toddler.

"Want me to take her up?" nodding toward her injured leg she'd finally actually been resting.

Calleigh nodded, but furrowed her brows as she folded the blanket back and realized their dilemma. "She's still dressed."

"Yeah..." Eric smiled, a little too used to his mistakes early on as an uncle/babysitter and having to wrangle clothes off and on angry, tired toddlers. "Rookie move," he teased, chuckling as he pushed himself up. "I wasn't gonna say anything."

Calleigh grinned, but watch Eric hesitate before he slipped his arms under Abby.

"She's not gonna freak if she wakes up and it's not you?"

"No, I don't think so," Calleigh assured with a smile. "She likes you." She held his gaze, eyes softening as she watched him carefully scoop Abby up into his arms, the toddler slumping against his chest without any sign of disturbance. "I'll meet you upstairs."

Eric's brows furrowed in confusion, and he craned his neck down to check his wristwatch past Abby's sleeping form. "You're actually going back to sleep already?"

Calleigh bit her lip, eyes mischievously holding his. "Who said anything about sleeping?"

/~/

A few minutes later, Calleigh was rinsing her face and dabbing it dry with a towel when she felt his arms snake around her waist. She was smiling before she'd even removed the towel and met his eyes in the mirror before them. His hands immediately crept beneath her shirt, finding the warm, soft skin of her abdomen, and his lips fell to her neck.

Calleigh watched him, reaching a hand back to wrap around the base of his neck, eyes clouding with a potent mix of desire and adoration. She couldn't help but turn in his arms until he traded the warm skin of her neck for her lips, her mouth immediately demanding more as she tugged on his bottom lip. He opened for her, lips pressing and sliding, tongues greeting, his hand finding her chin to guide her towards him until she had to stop and catch her breath.

"You are so sweet with her," she said breathlessly, resting her forehead against his jaw. "It's very attractive."

She pointedly slipped a hand beneath his shirt, her palm careening up his abdomen and resting just over his ribs. He chuckled mischievously, because somehow them being good with kids had gone from being one of the things they loved about each other to a major turn-on and that was completely, utterly fine by him.

"It's mutual," he assured, then immediately half sighing, half groaning as her fingers curled against his skin and her lips landed over his jaw, towards his ear. "You're gonna be an amazing mom."

"I made an appointment for next week," she told him, completely turning in his arms. His hands landed on her hips, steadying her against the counter.

"Mmm," was all he could get out as his lips found hers. They got caught up again, mouths melding, tongues brushing, until his hand found hers beneath his shirt and he weaved their fingers together. "You want me to go?"

She grinned, not at all surprised that she didn't have to ask. "Yeah."

He pressed his lips to her forehead, pausing for a moment as she squeezed his hand. She could feel his heart pounding strong and steady beneath her wrist.

"What happens tomorrow?" he couldn't help but wonder. "With Abby…"

Calleigh sighed, a little sad, a little hopeful. "She's coming to the station with us. We're meeting with Hillary, probably to talk about when her family takes on guardianship and we sign her out of protective custody."

Eric nodded softly in understanding, resting the bridge of his nose against her forehead now and taking a deep breath in. "Hope she's got some good family out there."

"Me too," Calleigh said quickly, like she'd already had that exact same thought. A moment later, she bit her lip. "I like having her here."

"Me too," Eric admitted, his free hand running up and down her back supportively. Despite both knowing it would obviously be temporary, they'd both accidentally grown attached. "She's a sweet kid, I'm sure things will work out for her," he assured, finally drawing a smile from her again.

Tightening her fingers around his, she slipped their hands from beneath his shirt and guided him towards the bed.


	7. Friday

_Note: Sorry for being MIA and leaving you all hanging! I didn't have a lot of writing time over the past month or so. My summer should be a little less crazy, though, so hopefully I can wrap this one up for you before too long. There will be one or two more chapters. :)_

* * *

Calleigh awoke much more suddenly than she usually did, and as she blinked and took in her familiar room, she realized the shadows were just a little darker than they normally were when she typically woke at dawn. She tiredly glanced at her bedside clock in search of the time – 2:23 a.m. It was the middle of the night, and yet the house didn't feel quiet and still at all. She had the uneasy feeling that some sudden sound had woken her, and as her rational senses came back to her as she woke, she had one thought: Abby.

She listened carefully and finally heard it: a muffled sob, a door creaking, a sleepy and unsure "Mama?" off in the distance.

Calleigh closed her eyes, heart clenching.

They'd had such a good day yesterday – almost too good. Here was this little girl – more of a toddler, really – who had just lost her mother, and along with her, everything familiar in life. Her home, her bed, her routine. Calleigh had been floored that yesterday hadn't been full of meltdowns and confusion. But maybe it hadn't settled in yet, or maybe after being passed around from one person at one facility to another she was just so happy to have a more normal day, even if the surroundings were anything but.

Pushing the covers from her body, Calleigh stood quickly but quietly and padded barefoot into the hallway in her tank top and shorts.

"Abby?" she called out softly, glancing down the far end of the hall toward their office and guest room.

She heard a soft thump and a cry from far down the hall, followed by a louder, drawn out and tear-filled "Maaaama!"

Calleigh quickly made her way down the hall, passing the currently empty guest room where Abby had been sleeping and heading straight for the last room on the left: their office. There, she found Abby plopped down in the middle of the rug, looking confused and exhausted and like she'd completely given up on her half-asleep desperate search for her mother in unfamiliar and overwhelming surroundings.

Tears continued to fall down her cheeks as she choked back a sob and pointed aimlessly around the room. "Mama?" she asked again.

Calleigh's brows furrowed as she tried to keep tears of her own from escaping. Her heart was breaking for Abby, who had to continually relive losing her mother and realize over and over again that she wasn't going to see her again.

"Hey sweetheart," she said carefully to the half-asleep child as she bent down, gently cupping her head for a moment before she ran her hand down her curls and over her back. "It's Calleigh, I'm here."

"Calleigh?" Abby asked, sniffling and blinking as her eyes finally settled on Calleigh in recognition. Her lip trembled as one hand reached out for her, but then the other pointed aimlessly across the room in confusion. "Mama?"

"She's not here, baby," Calleigh said, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm sorry."

The words came out emotionally, but Calleigh was hesitant to pull Abby into her arms. Abby wanted her mother, and while every part of Calleigh wanted to comfort her, she somehow felt like she'd be attempting to fill a void that she never could even imagine trying to fill. So Calleigh simply sat there, on her knees, waiting for her to initiate contact, her hand on Abby's back as she watched the child take a few deep, unsteady breaths. She folded her legs in and actually sat down, and as soon as she did, Abby's hands were on her thigh as the little girl climbed into her lap.

Calleigh immediately pulled her close, closing her eyes and resting her cheek against Abby's head that automatically settled on her chest.

"Did you wake up and not remember where you were?" Calleigh asked carefully.

"Uh huh. And I had a bad dream," Abby said, and Calleigh could feel her heart racing against her own chest. "The house went boom."

Calleigh closed her eyes again and swallowed hard, having to take a deep breath before she spoke as she soothingly rubbed Abby's back. All this time, she'd been so focused on how Abby had lost her mother. She'd nearly forgotten Abby had gone through a traumatic event herself, getting trapped after an earth-shattering explosion, and now it all her emotions about it seemed to be compounding.

"I'm sorry," Calleigh said softly. "That's not gonna happen here. It won't happen again."

"Promise?" Abby turned her head, laying her cheek against Calleigh's warm chest.

How could she promise that? Could you really promise anything in this world anymore? Calleigh pressed her lips together and rolled them in thought before she assured her of the one thing she did know.

"I promise it won't happen here. I know this isn't your home, but you're safe here." She said it with so much certainty and empathy that Abby seemingly melted into her, fingers clinging to the shoulder band of her tank top.

As she seemed to settle and her breathing evened, Calleigh stood slowly and carefully, one arm wrapping under Abby as she carried her back to her room. She eased a knee onto the bed and then sat down, scooting until her back rested against the wall.

"We're trying to find your family so that someone you know can take care of you," Calleigh continued to assure, feeling like her unfamiliar surroundings and people were contributing to her unease.

"Family?" Abby asked curiously with a sniffle.

"Yeah," Calleigh said encouragingly. She was beginning to wonder if anyone had even asked her to try to get a sense of who she was close to, who her mother may have been in contact with the most. "Like aunts or uncles...grandma or grandpa…?" she tried, searching for signs of recognition from Abby.

But she just shrugged slowly. "Mama," was all she said, and because she was just three, Calleigh had no idea what exactly that meant and assumed she was just saying she only wanted to be with her mother.

They remained there, curled up together in the too-big-for-a-three-year-old guest bed, the only sound the heavy but gradually calming breaths of Abby through her parted lips and two reassuring heartbeats. Calleigh tilted her head back to rest it against the pillows and the wall, eyes beginning to grow heavy with sleep. They were just like that when, 15 minutes later, Eric quietly peeked in to check on the two of them. He leaned into the doorway, smiling as he watched a half-asleep Calleigh's eyes flutter and take him in.

"Hey," she mouthed silently, not wanting to disturb Abby when she'd finally settled. She sat up a little, one hand leaving its resting spot over Abby's back to push her weight up. Carefully easing Abby from her body, she began to move the toddler onto the bed. She was halfway toward settling Abby into a cocoon of blankets and pillows when she felt the little girl stiffen and clutch at her tank top, practically burrowing herself back into the crook of her neck.

"Hey, you're okay," Calleigh soothed, giving in and placing her once free arm over Abby's back again.

She gave Eric a look and he visibly melted, a little smirk tugging at one side of his lips as he nodded down the hallway towards their bedroom. He motioned for her with his hand, too, verifying that he was telling her to come back to bed, clingy toddler and all. And so Calleigh slipped from their guest bedroom, one of Eric's awaiting arms settling onto the small of her back as he led her back to their bedroom. Unable to take his eyes off Calleigh with that little girl, he helped her slip back into bed with Abby comfortably tucked against her chest. He settled in next to her and pressed an adoring kiss to Calleigh's shoulder, the moment feeling a little too perfect for Abby to be leaving them tomorrow.

* * *

Hillary made her way down the hall of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab, her stomach in knots as she clutched her Child Protective Services department-issue hand-me-down laptop. This case had been a mess from the beginning: a little girl lost amid the most tragic event to hit Miami in decades, her parents nowhere to be found, her mother's body eventually discovered with no will in place, no signs of family nearby. And somehow, it had just grown even messier. She was really not looking forward to this conversation.

It was a Catch 22 when law enforcement got involved in the well-being of a child on a case. On the one hand, she was grateful for the officers who truly lived out the protect and serve mantra. And she was always grateful when as many people as possible had a child's best interest at heart. On the other hand, it constantly made her feel guilty and powerless when they didn't understand how the system worked, when they didn't understand how much she didn't agree with what had to be done.

She had a sinking feeling this was going to be the latter this time.

She found the glass conference room easily, an odd, unexplainable flutter of hope stirring within her at the sight before her eyes. Officer Duquesne – Calleigh, she reminded herself – hadn't just set Abby up with a deputy and stowed her away in a room. She'd taken her work in there to keep her company, sitting adjacent to Abby probably just in case she needed to access anything on her computer not safe for three-year-old eyes. Abby had an array of things to keep her occupied: books, coloring books and crayons, fingerprinting supplies, and a couple miscellaneous toys. And Hillary had to admit that kid looked a million times better in Calleigh's care. No one at CPS unfortunately had the time to give the kids in their care much extra attention, and that meant that generally only basic needs were meant. Abby, on the other hand, looked comfortable in her own shorts and tank top that Calleigh had had picked up from her home. Her hair was clean and swept back into two perfect french braids, her face bright despite the week's events.

For once, Hillary was actually kind of glad that an officer had stepped a bit beyond the scope of her job. Because CPS had been inundated with cases this week and Abby was obviously in caring, capable hands for the past few days. Maybe that whole protective custody thing _had_ been the best option for her.

Rapping on the glass, Hillary watched two pairs of eyes dart up to her. She waved at Abby and then met Calleigh's eyes, gently nodding towards the room next door to indicate she wanted to speak to her alone.

Calleigh was a trained and seasoned CSI, and she had damn good intuition on top of it all. She didn't need training or experience to tell her that Hillary was about to deliver bad news, and her expression fell as soon as she'd read Hillary's features. Calleigh excused herself from the room, resting a hand on Abby's shoulder and giving her a reassuring smile before she ducked out.

"Hey," Calleigh said as she met Hillary in the hallway. She motioned for Hillary to step into the next room and followed.

"Hi," Hillary said back. "How's she doing?"

"Not bad," Calleigh said honestly as they both took a seat, her across from Hillary at the conference table they also sometimes used as an interrogation table. "She really misses her mom, of course, but she's been surprisingly okay."

Hillary smiled sadly, and Calleigh picked up on it immediately.

"Who's she going with?" Calleigh asked, fearing that Abby's mother had a less-than-stellar brother, or a drunk mother who was next of kin.

Hillary bit her lip regretfully. "The county," she finally said, hesitantly meeting Calleigh's eyes. "Foster home, then hopefully adoption."

"_What?_"

Hillary nodded sadly. "It was complicated, but… That's what a judge ordered." She fished a stack of papers from her bag and set them on the table. "Her dad was completely separated from his family, and with good reason. He grew up on the wrong side of their hometown – drugs, alcohol, domestic disputes, the works. Turns out he really straightened himself out, fell in love with Abby's mom, joined the military, and never looked back. Abby's mother, Jenna, was only 17 when she got pregnant. Family didn't approve of the baby or him, and she emancipated herself from them and ran off with him. They were happy and lived a comfortable life on their own, but they'd completely cut ties with their families. Judge ruled that it was obvious they didn't want either side of the family involved, and that after site visits, it wouldn't be in her best interest."

Calleigh felt her heart sink, anxiety balling up in her chest as her eyes drifted to the glass wall between the two rooms and settled on Abby. She was filled with equal parts desperation and determination, and if her heart hadn't already made her mind up, it sure did when Abby looked up from the paper she'd been coloring on and gave her a hopeful little smile.

Calleigh cautiously smiled back before directing her attention back towards Hillary.

"Is it okay if I extend her protective custody a day?" Calleigh asked, a mystery motive hidden in her undertone.

Hillary gave her a questioning look. She wasn't sure why delaying this a day mattered, but she also wasn't going to pull Abby out of a situation in which she was clearly thriving despite everything.

"Sure," she said with a shrug.

* * *

Eric was poised over a set of fingerprints, brow furrowing as he leaned down and rested his eye against the magnifying device. He took in the ridges and loops, making a mental note, and then moved the glass to his reference samples. No match. He rose a little to be kind to his back and then checked another, comparing and contrasting for a moment. His eyes were carefully taking in the details of a unique arch when he heard the door. He knew it was Calleigh without even looking, could feel the soft weight of her eyes on him and knew that her lips were probably curving up slightly at the sight of him so diligently at work.

He was right, he confirmed as he looked up to find her leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest as she waited and watched. Despite the smile that always seemed to tease her lips when she took him in, she seemed a little tense. And she was definitely a little more subdued than usual, that curve of her lips fading as she stepped towards him, running her hand along the table and then leaning into it when she reached him.

"What's up?" he asked cautiously, sensing her mood. She was quiet for a moment, not responding immediately as she aimlessly stared at the table, seemingly collecting her thoughts. "Did Abby's family come for her?" he wondered aloud, trying to pinpoint the reason behind her mixed emotions. He knew the little girl's leaving was oddly going to leave a bit of a void in their hearts and their home, even after such a short time, but Calleigh didn't just seem a little down. He could sense the weight of a large decision on her shoulders.

"No," she said, and he wasn't sure if she meant not yet or not at all. But as her eyes flickered back to meet his with a mix of hope and disbelief in them, he knew exactly what she meant. And despite how serious she seemed, he felt a smile tugging at one corner of his lips.

"I know that look," he said with a hint of amusement. She had her heart set on something she wanted, and she wasn't letting go.

He watched her practically melt in front of him, turning so her back pressed against the examining table as her eyes clung to his.

"Her parents were estranged from their families. She's going into foster care." She crossed her arms protectively and determinedly over her chest, lips tightening into an attempt at a sad smile.

Eric's eyes grew serious as they held hers and he nodded in understanding, recognition flashing in his eyes as another smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "Unless we intervene," he finished her thought for her, and a glimmer of a smile touched her lips for the first time since she'd walked in the room.

"Unless we adopt her," she clarified, hoping it didn't sound too crazy out loud. Oddly, it didn't, but she was still nervous it would. "…or foster," she added just in case.

"Adopt," Eric assured, smiling at the relief in Calleigh's softened eyes. "If we take her, it'd be permanently. She doesn't need anymore uncertainty."

Calleigh nodded in agreement, unfolding her arms to press her palms back against the table and clearing her throat. "So…"

Eric tucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, rubbing the rough stubble littering his cheek as the contemplated their options. "What about our plans? I mean, we have a certain appointment next week…"

Calleigh took in a deep breath, thinking it through but only for a moment. "We keep the appointment."

Eric eyed her suspiciously, one corner of his lips curving upward. "And what if you get pregnant?" he asked quietly, needing the confirmation.

Calleigh looked down and smiled mischievously before meeting his eyes again. "Well then I guess we would have two."

Eric pursed his lips to keep from smiling, but it was impossible when she was grinning like she was before him and saying those words. He nodded in agreement and acceptance, holding her gaze as they silently marveled at the potential, all too welcome chaos to come.


End file.
